It feels like a lifetime ago that Wales were top of the world rankings
This week saw former Wales centre Hadleigh Parkes confirm he had hung up his boots, becoming the latest from Wales’ last ‘golden generation’ to call it a day.
The former Scarlets midfielder, who won 29 caps, has landed a new job with a civil engineering firm. His time in the Welsh jersey coincided with Wales climbing to the top of the world rankings – albeit briefly – at the end of Warren Gatland’s first spell in charge.
Winning 14 matches in a row between March 2018 and March 2019, Wales picked up a Grand Slam, rose to number one in the world and went into the World Cup in Japan as genuine contenders.
In the end, they were narrowly beaten in the semi-final by eventual champions South Africa.
It’s all a far cry from where Welsh rugby finds itself now, with the game having been left to rot long before the class of 2019’s efforts.
But, with Parkes off to find a new career, where are the other alumni of Wales’ last Grand Slam now?
Of that 39-man Six Nations squad, 22 are still playing at the professional level.
Elliot Dee, Nicky Smith, Adam Beard, Aaron Wainwright, Tomos Williams, Gareth Anscombe, Jarrod Evans, Owen Watkin, Josh Adams and Liam Williams are not only all still going, but have all played Test rugby in the last year.
Rhys Carre, who ended up going to that year’s World Cup, is also back on the Test scene in 2025.
As for those still playing at club level, some – like Gareth Davies, George North and Leigh Halfpenny – officially called time on their international careers.
Others, like Wyn Jones, Ryan Elias, Dillon Lewis, Jake Ball, Seb Davies, Ross Moriarty, Thomas Young and Aled Davies, are ticking along for the regions. There’s also Tomas Francis, plying his trade out in France.
There’s a few in between official retirement and playing.
Neither Rob Evans and Cory Hill have officially retired since last playing in the USA and Japan respectively, while Scott Williams last featured for the Dragons last season.
As for former Scarlets wing Steff Evans, he’s now combining a job with Castell Howell along with playing for Carmarthen Quins.
When it comes to those who have officially hung up their boots, there tends to be two obvious camps; punditry and coaching.
Much was made of Wales’ ‘golden generation’ of pundits earlier in the year, following the criticism of Gatland during his ill-fated second spell in charge.
The likes of Jonathan Davies, Dan Biggar, Josh Navidi, Alun Wyn Jones and Ken Owens have all gone on from Grand Slam success in 2019 to offering their views on air.
Ellis Jenkins, while not a part of that year’s Grand Slam success after a serious knee injury months earlier against South Africa, has also enjoyed success in that field.
As for coaches, Justin Tipuric finds himself looking after the Ospreys’ defence after calling time on his playing days, while Josh Turnbull will soon add Wales U20s assistant coach to his responsibilities with Cardiff’s pathway.
Some have managed to straddle the line, with Rhys Patchell doing his fair share of punditry and coaching, even helping out Wales in the recent autumn campaign.
He was joined in Steve Tandy’s backroom staff by Dan Lydiate, another staple of Wales’ team from that era, who is also starting his coaching career with the Dragons.
Bradley Davies, who didn’t feature in the Grand Slam, but went on to feature in the World Cup, is now coaching with the Scarlets.
While not strictly coaching, back-row James Davies, another to make the World Cup squad after not featuring in the Six Nations, is now recruitment and rugby operations officer at the Scarlets.
Then there are some who don’t fit into either bracket.
Hallam Amos gave up rugby to pursue a medical career, while Jonah Holmes left professional rugby to become a commercial building surveyor.
The likes of Aaron Shingler, Samson Lee and Leon Brown have all called time on their career in recent years, too.
Follow all of our channels to ensure you stay up to date with the latest Welsh rugby news. Sign up to our free daily newsletter here and our WhatsApp channel here for all the breaking news.